The discussion centers around how to get started with contributions to open source projects, exploring various avenues, resources, and approaches for potential contributors. It includes inquiries about specific languages and tools, as well as general guidance on finding projects to contribute to.
Participants generally agree that contributions should be directed towards specific applications rather than a broad concept of open source. However, there is no consensus on a singular path to begin contributing, as various suggestions and resources are offered without a definitive approach being established.
Some participants express uncertainty about the specific steps to take for contributions, indicating a reliance on personal initiative to find suitable projects and contact developers. There is also a lack of clarity on the prerequisites for contributing, such as the level of programming expertise required.
Individuals interested in contributing to open source projects, particularly those who are new to the concept and seeking guidance on how to navigate the landscape of available projects and resources.
phinds said:There IS no "the" open source. There are tons of applications, developed by different people, that are open source. Start by Googling "gnu license".
Here's one hit that is a good place to start:
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html
Arti said:Yes! I got that. We can start our contribution from gnu licenses directly ?
Gotchaa.. thanks a lot !phinds said:WHAT contrbution? A contribution is not to the GNU license, it is to a specific software application developed by a specific individual or group and you have to figure out what application you want to contribute to an contact the authors or look at their web page to see what the contribution rules are.
I am familiar with C, C++, JAVA and python(basics). I am doing my bachelors, currently. Where should I start with ? Also please guide me with my first opensource contribution. Thanks.FactChecker said:Depending on which computer languages and tools you use, there are probably web sites for users. If you are interested in an open source tool or language, xxxyyy, then Google "xxxyyy users group" and see what pops up. Working with them should give you some orientation and ideas for your own work. I am familiar with a Perl website cpan.org. I am also aware of a git repository, github.com where people share code, but I have no experience with it.
Arti said:I am familiar with C, C++, JAVA and python(basics). I am doing my bachelors, currently. Where should I start with ? Also please guide me with my first opensource contribution. Thanks.
Yes, this sounds good. Thanks a lot, this was a great help !jim mcnamara said:Go to http://sourceforge.net/ People start projects there all the time. Many projects are only partially complete. Email the project owner and find out what you can do.
This is amazing ! I loved it. Thanks a lot !fluidistic said:There are many ways one can contribute to an open source project.
For example Stockfish's project (a chess engine), became the number 1 in terms of strength due to a testing platform. Programmers can modify the code and they test on thousands of games to check whether the change was good or bad in terms of elo. This requires a lot of computing power, and anyone can share their cpu's to the task; no need to be a programmer for that.
Here are the current patches being tested: http://tests.stockfishchess.org/tests.
thanks a lot, this link is really helpful.Doug Huffman said:Wiki on FOSS history, organizations, licenses, people, software. http://freeopensourcesoftware.org/